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King County
Executive Office
Ron Sims, King County Executive 701 Fifth Ave. Suite 3210 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: 206-296-4040 Fax: 206-296-0194 TTY Relay: 711
Image: King County Exeutive Ron Sims, News Release

Nov. 7, 2006, 2 p.m.

Sims: Heavy rain, historic flooding underscore need for flood-protection upgrades

Sims tours flood areasAs he toured the heavily flooded Snoqualmie Valley and observed high water eroding saturated levees, King County Executive Ron Sims today said there can be no delay in fixing and strengthening the county's aging public safety infrastructure.

"These rains are historic, and the impacts potentially devastating to residents and property owners in our flood-prone areas. It brings into sharp focus the need to upgrade our flood protection infrastructure," Sims said.

A day after declaring an emergency flood proclamation for the county, Sims visited a number of locations in the valley battered by flooding, including a neighborhood and businesses in the North Bend and Snoqualmie areas. Sims also toured the King County Flood Warning Center and stopped at the Snoqualmie Falls overlook, where he urged support for his Flood Hazard Management Plan.

Sims submitted a plan to the County Council in July that identifies a range of $179 million to $335 million in priority repairs and upgrades over the next decade, and recommends creating a countywide flood control district to fund the plan. Under the recommendation, the owner of a $300,000 home in King County would pay from $15 to $30 per year, depending on how much of the priority flood protection work is funded.

"This major storm and last winter's stretch of heavy rain are showing the vulnerabilities of our flood-protection structures, many of which are near the end of their engineered lifespan," he said. "Even without the anticipated effects of global warming, we know that the levees must be strengthened to keep citizens safe."

A new global warming report, authored by members of the University of Washington's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Climate Change Technical Subcommittee, was released last month that forecasts wetter winters and more periods of heavy rain.

The report lays out how scientists predict the effects of global warming will include increased winter flows in snowmelt-fed river systems, which includes most of King County's major river systems. High flows over longer periods of time could damage the levees and other structures that King County relies upon to protect people and their property.

Sims tours flood areas"This report sends a clear message that we must upgrade our levees and other flood-protecting structures now – before the anticipated effects of global warming send our streams and rivers over the banks and into businesses and neighborhoods," Sims said.

King County maintains a levee system that runs along 119 miles of rivers, protects lives and property located in the 25,000 acres of floodplain in King County and more than $7 billion in economic infrastructure.

Sims said the plan that he's sent to the County Council will enable King County to catch up with the backlog of work that its aging network of levees desperately needs, while remaining fiscally responsible. The plan also calls for acquiring frequently flooded properties and expanding operations at the King County Flood Warning Center.

The County Council is expected to adopt the flood plan by the end of the year or early in 2007, and consider formation of the new countywide flood control district next spring.

Sims' proposed flood-protection plan is available.

The climate change report is also available.


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  Updated: March 17, 2010